Vanu suggested increasing security around the workshop, which he declined, saying Vanu was paranoid, as usual. His second-in-command always thought there were people out to get him, which there weren’t. Just his paranoia. However, having seen the van outside the workshop, and following him around town, Richard was beginning to think otherwise.
Picking up his mobile, Richard dialled Paula Lang’s number. “Hey! It’s me. Is the car in the workshop?” When he received a positive confirmation, he pulled out his desk drawer. “Good. I’ll be down in a couple of minutes.”
Having hung up, he pocketed his phone and turned his attention to the contents of his drawer. He took out his invention and wrapped it in a white T-shirt he brought with him that morning. All wrapped, he picked up the rucksack under his desk.
Once the cargo was safely zipped up in his bag, a knock came at the door and Vanu walked over to the blinds in Richard’s office. “If the van moves after you disappear, I’ll call you straight away. Remember to keep your head down.”
“I will.” He dipped his head in thanks to Vanu, who nodded the gesture to him.
“Good luck. If they follow you, move around a lot, okay? Throw them off the scent. It takes longer, but at least you’ll know you’re safe.”
He felt like an agent at MI5, or something, except he had no training. “You got it. And thanks, Vanu, I appreciate the heads-up on this.”
“I have as much invested in this project as you. It has to work; the world needs it to work. And I’ll be damned if I’m going to let these bastards win. Now get going.”
Leaving Vanu in front of the blinds, Richard opened the office door and walked down the iron stairs to the ground floor, where Paula sat waiting for him in her Volkswagen Polo. He opened the rear passenger door.
“Lie down in the footwell until I give the all-clear, okay?”
Richard did as ordered, placing the bag in the footwell and covering it with his body, almost hugging it. With the passenger door closed, Paula started the engine and accelerated outside, after the workshop door lifted. “Nice and easy. And mind the bumps.”
“Relax, I know what I’m doing.”
He felt every bump along the way, until he received confirmation that they’d passed the transit van. Paula told him it appeared the van had not followed them. “Think I’d like to hear this from Vanu, to be honest.” Picking up his mobile, Richard sent a text, every bump hurt. “Excellent!” He smiled at Vanu’s text, saying the transit van remained outside.
Sitting up, Richard grabbed the rucksack, holding on to it for dear life. No one was going to get their hands on his baby. Checking the surrounding area for signs of being followed, Richard sat staring out of the rear window. “I can’t see anyone following us.”
Once on Ampere Way, leaving Croydon Valley Trade Park, Richard breathed a little easier, beginning to relax, keeping an eye out for that transit van.
The final leg of the journey to Neelkanth Safe Deposit comprised two main roads, the A236 Mitcham Road and the A235 Brighton Road. “Pull up here.” He signalled for Paula to pull up near the Robins and Day Citroën showroom. The safe deposit centre wasn’t far away. “I’ll meet you where we discussed earlier, right?”
Paula agreed. Richard closed the door, secured the rucksack on his back, and began his convoluted walk to his destination, taking road after road, making sure he wasn’t followed. Eventually, he arrived at the centre.
Keeping an eye on his surroundings, which probably looked suspicious, he was allowed entry, having to wait for various security protocols. The measures of security made him feel more confident. Only those with deposit boxes were allowed inside. The building was guarded twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
After passing stringent security checks, Richard walked with a guard, and the manager to his new deposit box. The manager gave him a key, which Richard put in at the same time as the manager used his, opening the door together. Without hesitation, he crammed the rucksack inside the box and closed the door, locking it using his key. “So, only myself and my sister will have access to this? No one else has a key?”
“Relax, Mr Fisher, it’s all in hand. Your sister, Charlotte, and yourself are the only two people on your list. This building is so secure, even the owner doesn’t have access to the vault. This should make you feel better, yes?”
“All I need to know is that it’s a hundred per cent secure, that’s all.”
“Your belongings are safer here at Neelkanth than with any of our competitors, I assure you. So, when you go home tonight, I want you to unwind, and relax, knowing we have your security needs met. No one is getting to your locker, Mr Fisher, believe me.”
Confident his baby was safe, Richard asked the manager if there was, perhaps, an alternative exit to the front entrance. The manager nodded his understanding.
“You’ll be surprised how many of our customers ask the same thing.” The manager and guard walked him from the room full of lockers, to the rear of the building, where there was a fire exit, complete with digital security card technology. “Thank you for your custom, Mr Fisher.”
Richard shook hands with both men, stepped outside and turned to them, as the guard closed the door. With the locker key in his jeans pocket, all he had to do was to keep walking until Paula picked him up and drove him back to the workshop, where the rest of his team were waiting for him.
With his invention stashed
